Today’s guest post is by Paula Hoskins. She almost got burned by a timeshare purchase but was able sell it and wanted to share her story with our readers.
About six months ago I was spending a trip with my boyfriend at a timeshare in Aruba that his family owns. It was an amazing vacation, right by the water with a dock full of boats that we could take out whenever we wanted. My boyfriend was in the process of becoming an architect and really liked the building themes in Aruba. I had a lot to do with all of the resort amenities. This Aruba timeshares was really luxurious and the location was just perfect for spending vacation time. This was my first timeshare experience and overall I have to give it a ten out of ten.
What was so surprising about the whole trip is what a mess it caused for my boyfriends family. Apparently what had happened was that they received a huge “special assessment” bill and the annual fees to keep the timeshare increased by over $500 dollars that year. We had both promised to cover the cost of our stay, which was pretty much the cost of the timeshare for this year. But when we heard about the special charge and increased fees we knew we wouldn’t be able to cover the entire trip and still make payments on all the other things we are paying for like cars and rent.
When we told his family that we just couldn’t cover the entire cost of the trip they were not too happy. They gave us an option that if we took it off their hands we could sell it, or rent it out to cover the costs and hopefully get rid of it, they would forget about the entire expense of this trip. I accepted without giving it a second thought, I figured I would be able to sell it as I am fairly internet savvy and was sure I could get rid of it. I was so wrong, about a month after we took ownership over his family’s timeshare I began to research places online that would help me sell it.
I constantly found warnings and scam reports to stay away from timeshares and there was a lot of information stating there wasn’t a market for resales and stating how used timeshares are nearly impossible to get rid of. After almost a year of hearing nothing but bad news about selling a timeshare I decided to use a service to get out of the timeshare. I really just wanted to get rid of it before the fees came again because I knew that we would not be able to afford them especially if they went up again.
Luckily there was a timeshare relief company called Transfer America that helped us get out. We set everything up over the phone and online and I faxed all the paperwork from a Kinko’s down the street. It was a simple and speedy process and thankfully I didn’t wait another month because a $2000 special assessment came in the mail right before our scheduled fees were due. It was so nice to be able to show my boyfriend how much we ended up saving by getting out before the bill came and it felt great to be able to send our timeshare bills to someone else.
All in all I learned that a timeshare is the best vacation experience I have ever had. I also learned that you should never buy a timeshare, especially now that the resorts are renting them out for so cheap! And lastly I learned that if anyone is in trouble with their timeshare and needs to get out they should find a timeshare relief company nearby to help them get rid of it before it is too late!
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* All photos in this post provided by Paula Hoskins.
6 comments
Wow, I sent this to my mother. She has a timeshare and I know she has to pay $500 maintenance per year if she uses it or not. So ridiculous. I want her to get rid of it.
I hope it helps her Anthony 🙂 It was so great seeing you today too!
@Anthony,
My parents also own a tiimeshare that they NEVER use. They’ve lost so much money on it and they are contracted to continue shelling out the stupid annual maintenance fee as well. Timeshares may sound like a good deal, but in reality, timeshares are just too good to be true. It’s too bad that so many people fall for it and then get stuck paying for it.
I know, the more people you talk to about it, the more common this issue seems. People just get stuck with them. Hopefully it will work out for your parents!@Connie,
I was suckered into a free vacation with a 2 hour hard sell for a timeshare in Las Vegas. The old saying “figures don’t lie, but liars sure can figure” is the best way to sum up their sales pitch. Long story short, their math didn’t stand the sniff test, I called them on it, they created new numbers, I called them on that, they thanked me and went on to the next sheep.
I’m disappointed to hear the author’s tale, in that parents should never try to burden children. That was terribly wrong.
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